Food and the Joy of FaceBook

The other day, a friend from high school contacted me on FaceBook. I was so happy! I’ve been trying to get in touch with her for years, but haven’t been able to make it. She was one of my two most bestest friends in high school, and I think of her SO often! She was sharp and funny and interested in a lot of things and okay with being friends with people who held pretty much the diametrically opposed opinion on practically everything (me).

One of the first things I saw when I added her as a friend was her reply to the poll: Do you believe in Evolution? She emphatically does not. She believes the Bible is God’s absolute word. I do believe in Evolution and I do not believe the Bible is God’s absolute word, so I thought I’d go and take the poll, too. I didn’t. When I got to it, the choices were (paraphrased) 1) Absolutely–the scientific proof is incontrovertible 2) Absolutely not–I’m a Creationist and 3) I think the jury is still out. Since none of those represents my position, I couldn’t take the poll.

In the first place, if you know much about science, you know that there’s no such thing as incontrovertible truth, there are only theories which have not yet been disproved. So that choice was out. In the second place, though, I do believe in the evolution of life from simple forms to complex forms, because the scientific evidence–so far–supports it; since I have no doubt of the existence of God, I have do problem attributing the activation and direction of the Singularity (or Big Bang or whatever started the whole thing going) to God. As to the jury being out, there is no jury. It isn’t a jury kind of thing.

Anyway, thank you, FaceBook, for bringing my wonderful friend back into my life. As always, she delights me with her humor, her strong and proud faith, and her ability to challenge me to examine my own beliefs.

Now for the food.

One of the member of the Southern Indiana Writers Group brought the MOST DELICIOUS peanut butter fudge to the meeting this past Thursday. She was kind enough to email us her recipe, but I have no confidence I could make anything as good as hers.

Fudge

4 C Granulated Sugar

1 Can Evaporated Milk

1 Stick Butter

(I always add Mexican Vanilla, but you don’t have to.)

Stir and blend over a medium heat until bubbly. Allow to cook to the soft-ball stage. If you want a grainy fudge, stir several times while it’s in that slow boil/bubbly stage (that’s the way I make it). Once it’s reached the soft ball stage, you can make it several ways. Do not allow the fudge to cool. Last night I merely added a big glob of Jif Creamy Peanut Butter and turned the electric mixer on and went to town on it until it started to harden. Then I quickly poured it into a buttered pan and allowed it to cool before cutting into squares. You can also make chocolate by adding one entire package of chocolate chips and beating the same way with the electric mixer. Sometimes I split it in half, peanut butter on one side and chocolate on the other. If you’re adding nuts, do it just before pouring into the buttered pan, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, not the mixer. You can also add half a package of chocolate chips and a glob of peanut butter and have Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge. My favorite. There’s no end, vanilla fudge, coconut fudge, anything but with the base of those original three ingredients. The worst thing you can do to this fudge is to overcook it. So check it frequently until it’s reached a soft ball in cold water.

~~~

At one point during the meeting, somebody was jokingly hassling me. I picked up a piece of fudge, said, “Okay, I’m going to throw this fudge at you!” Then I put it in my mouth and said, “Oops! Missed!” Nobody was surprised.

Yesterday, I got all Martha Stewart or something and made this for lunch. It’s Benedictine with toast points and mushroom soup. I’ve already posted the recipe for Benedictine, but here’s the soup:

CLEAR MUSHROOM SOUP

olive oil

celery, diced or sliced

onions (if you can eat them)

mushrooms

broth (I used vegetarian vegetable)

Heat the olive oil in a pot to medium low. Cook the onion (if using) and celery until onion is translucent and tender and just turning golden and the celery is bright. Add broth or water and bouillon and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. Since Charlie can’t eat mushrooms, I had to use onion powder. I used a mix of white button mushrooms, portabella mushrooms, and dried morels I’ve been saving for just such a soup.

~~~

Extra tip–How to cut toast points without tearing them: Use scissors.

MA

writing prompt: Have two people who are best friends discover an absolutely irreconcilable difference.

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WELCOME TO MY BLAHG

Here is where I ramble on about whatever happens to fall through my mind. I also have a professional site, where I post about my books, stories, news and appearances. Every month, I post a “Hot Flash” there–a story or prose poem of about 50 words. I hope you enjoy your visit.
–Marian Allen